


Your Way With Words is Through Silence

by tonightless



Series: The Finite Anthology: 100 Prompts ∞ [Merlin/Arthur] [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Horny Teenagers, M/M, Modern Era, Mute Arthur, Muteness, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-12
Updated: 2013-10-12
Packaged: 2017-12-27 22:55:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/984620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tonightless/pseuds/tonightless
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur doesn’t speak, but Merlin understands him anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Way With Words is Through Silence

**Author's Note:**

> For Prompt #079: _Silence_.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you to [wanderlust48](http://wanderlust48.livejournal.com/) for the beta. ♥

**ೋ**

╔════════════════════╗

  
_“If actions spoke louder than words,  _  
_ you'd have made me deaf _  
_ by now…” _

 _—A Day to Remember, Your Way With_  
_ Words is Through Silence_  
  
  
╚════════════════════╝

****

****

## I.

First Merlin’s cruising, and then – then there’s no board underneath his feet. All he’s got is a blur of gold and blue and then grey when the sky tilts forward; just those boys, and gravity. It’s that bastard that slams Merlin into the pavement.

He yells in protest, an easy dirty “fuck!” (sure, the Borden Boys could spit out worse, but Merlin’s shaken up on the street and not down a back alley with ‘em trading dollars for cigarettes). Blood is already beading on his cheek and elbows and legs, warm and wet. Boy, the ground sure dug deep.

Then the blur of gold and blue erupts in his head and Merlin is crawling on grazed knees towards the poor fuck. Huh, maybe he’s the poor fuck – ‘cept he’s fallen off his board more times than Wayne’s shot up Big H, and that’s saying something. Everyone in town would give it the get-go.

“Awh, jeez,” Merlin says when he sees the guy’s schoolboy face. It’s got full lips and gold eyelashes so long they oughta be on a Disney princess, and Merlin ain’t one for romantic shit but the sunlight catches them real nicely when Blondie blinks up at the sky like he ain’t seen it before in his life.

He moves into the spot between Blondie’s arm and chest. “You okay, man?” Merlin leans forward until he’s the only thing Blondie can see… _damn_ , he’s got some pretty peepers, big and bluer than the blue raspberry Slush Puppies Ellie sells downtown. “Let’s getcha back up.”

Takes a bit of manhandling, but soon Blondie’s at a ninety degree angle instead of a one hundred and eighty. He ain’t too roughed up – a coupla scrapes and nicks, nothing some Savalon and your old lady’s fussing couldn’t fix – but he’s still got his hands all curled up round the fabric of Merlin’s band tee, and his head is still lolling on Merlin’s shoulder. And Merlin ain’t one for romantic shit, but it feels… pretty damn right.

They just fit together, you know?

Blondie pulls back, dipping a hand into the pocket of his coat – some hundred quid deal from the high street – and when it comes back up, there’s a notebook twixt his fingers. It ain't nothing special: just a cheapo one.

It’s only when the pen appears that Merlin Gets It.

 

 

## II.

It takes a coupla months, but soon the notebook's junk -- in Merlin's eyes, anyway. He's good at reading Arthur without looking at his stupid spiky writing first; sometimes he don’t even need Arthur’s hands to keep him in touch with the shit up in his head.

He just gets him, easy.

 

 

## III.

Arthur’s dad – Uther bleedin’ Pendragon, of all the guys in the world – is out more often than he is in, so the only company they got at Arthur’s is Morgana. She’s always dolled up in DMs and black eyeliner (she kinda looks like a raccoon, though Merlin sure as hell ain’t got the balls to say it to her face). Revlon’s Va Va Violet is another staple: slicked onto her mouth whilst she chews gum and _uh-huh_ s and _I hear you, girl_ s into the phone.

That girl can talk to Viv for fucking hours... which leaves a whole lotta time for Merlin to entertain Arthur. And it leaves a whole lotta time for Arthur to entertain Merlin -- and _boy_ , just ‘cause Arth ain’t much of a talker don’t mean he can’t do some damn wicked things with his mouth.

Merlin’s gotta bite the inside of his cheek from smirking when he thinks back over today. He don’t want Uther looking at him funny. Definitely don’t want him looking at him funny and working out his son shags Merlin brainless and kisses him dry and teases to the point when Merlin swears he’s gonna lose his mind 'cause it’s so _goddamn good_.

(And, yeah, everyone thinks Arth's real innocent – life’s a bitch).

Luckily the Big U is distracted: roped into a conversation with Morgana ‘bout the environment, from the sounds of it. Merlin tunes it out and looks over at Arthur, who’s mixing his mashed potato with ketchup like he's four. Merlin rolls his eyes; for his time and trouble he gets a middle finger flipped at him – under the table, though. Arthur likes sticking in his daddy’s good books.

Morgana don’t. Arth’s only just got his hand back above the table when she starts yelling, her fork swiping at the air with each point she makes, and Uther’s shouting back in less time than it takes for Merlin to get little innocent Artie hard and dying for it.

Still, Arthur’s quicker ‘n that: Merlin ain’t got no time to blink before he’s stood up real quick – so quick his chair tips back onto the floor – and thrown his cutlery down. Morgana and Uther’s mouths snap shut like they both got a right hook at the same time; though it’s the thunder in Arthur’s big stormy eyes that did it. 

Huh. Merlin once compared those bad boys to Slush Puppies.

 

## IV.

It's different at Merlin’s. His bed creaks like hell for one thing, and ‘round the corner the alleys start with the Fuck Ups and the No Lifes and the Junkies. Merlin meets up with the gang sometimes, though Wayne was dragged to rehab and Lance got all geeked up ever since he fell for his girl Gwen, and Will? Yeah, Will is a law unto himself.

Merlin's gonna drag Arthur down them alleys one day and blow him in some dark corner – not that Arth knew that yet, and even if he wasn’t keen by the time Merlin got going on him his brain would scramble up real good and he'd fall apart just before Merlin did. Sure, Arth didn’t keen or moan or shout Merlin’s name at the toppa his lungs when he hit the top, but hell he could scrabble and buck and pant and the way he rolled his hips so was sinful it made Merlin see stars, sometimes.

When they're up in Merlin's room they get the CD player going so his ma can't hear the bedsprings, 'cause that makes for some awkward small talk in the morning, okay? It's not that Arth is Merlin’s dirty little secret – his ma knows, Uther knows (and deals with Merlin’s cheek and bad dress sense just ‘cause he knows his boy's happy), even Ellie downtown knows. ‘Sides, it was habit now: sling on Guns N’ Roses, strip, get down to it.

Not that they always get it on. Merlin would be talking out his ass if he said he don't like it, but they have a loada good times fully clothed.

‘Cause Arth just gets him, easy.

 

## V.

“Guess being a rich boy ain’t all flowers and sunshine, man,” Merlin says, passing the joint over. There’s a real nice pool of warmth in his stomach and everything’s getting kinda hazy at the edges, but he can still feel Arth squished up ‘gainst him. “Like… I dunno, jus’… can’t b’lieve you ain’t done this bef…”

Arthur kisses him to shut him up.

 

## VI.

At Morgana and Arth’s birthday do Merlin gets mad drunk and spends the best part of the night puking into the toilet. Arth sticks by him; keeps his hair off his face and an arm wrapped ‘round his waist.

“Oi,” Merlin slurs when he comes up for air; “’m ‘sposed to look after you.”

Arthur lifts a brow.

“Awh, sweet fuck,” Merlin moans. He’s got his mouth open to keep talking but his stomach’s a bitch and he has to stick his face back into the toilet.

Arthur's arm curls further 'round his waist.

 

## VII.

All in all he’s a bit of a wild one, Arth: Merlin bets it’s ‘cause Uther’s been hanging ‘round for so long. There's that night when he drags Merlin out for a midnight bike ride through the streets and they cruise up ‘em like kings of the world, Merlin laughing and laughing with a grinning Arthur next to him.

'Cause of that Merlin shows Arthur how to ride his skateboard; gives him a few tricks, too, ollies and flipbacks and grinds. Arthur mucks up at first and goes home with scraped knees and wounded pride (he’d turned down Merlin’s offer of kneepads and a helmet with one hell of a glare), but that don’t mean Merlin don’t kiss all of 'em better later.

Arthur’s pretty special, and Merlin’s gonna keep an eye on him. Yeah, so he's a rich kid and Merlin’s barely out the gutter (his ma’s got three shitty jobs to keep them afloat), but Arth’s also way more than that. He’s Merlin’s rock… and Christ, he kinda loves Arth so much it _hurts_.

Not that he digs romantic shit, or anything.

 

 

 

* * *

 

  **ೋ**


End file.
